Application Guide

WHITE BREADS
The world of baking has not always known white bread. It is the product of a sophisti-
cated milling process that acts like a series of sieves, separating the bran and germ
from the creamy white endosperm. Mills were first powered by steam in the 1700s, fi-
nally breaking the centuries-old customs of using wind, muscle, and water power for
milling. This innovation proved a great success. Ingredients to make bread became eas-
ier than ever to obtain. The invention of high-speed roller mills became a hot topic
among European inventors. Patents were finally granted to Swiss inventors in the mid-
1800s, but it was a Hungarian, Count Szechenyi, who is credited with first putting such
a system into widespread use in Budapest mills in 1870. The resulting finely bolted
flour was used by the Viennese and French to create their sophisticated array of
baroque coffeehouse breads and pastries. In 1879, a team of Hungarian engineers was
invited to Minneapolis to set up such innovative systems of milling in America, and
the General Mills Corporation was born.
White breads and egg breads are the mainstay of the home bread
baker’s kitchen. That is why I categorize them as daily breads; they are good made
fresh every day and have basic, versatile flavors so they can be eaten at every meal and
are easily consumed in a day. I consider them gourmet breads, with delicate flavor and
texture, yet completely accommodating at the same time. Loving white and egg breads
is like choosing vanilla ice cream—often thought of as plain. But those who love white
bread, like those who love vanilla ice cream, appreciate its subtleties of flavor and the
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